"Three calling One, do you hear?" Menashe
فيلم الزمن الباقي كامل - The Time That Remains (2009) is a beautiful comedy with strong social and political commentary.
Directed by Elia Suleiman.
Starring Elia Suleiman, Saleh Bakri and Ali Suliman among many others.
The beauty of The Time that Remains is in the absurd comedy that Elia infused within the drama. Suleiman's crafts a poignant, simple, lyrical, absurd comedy to tell the story of the six decade struggle between Israelis and Arabs in Palestine and Israel. There is so much irony and wit within each scene that I found myself laughing while being sad. In one scene a group of combatants drop their weapons and remove their uniforms and quit the battle that they have just lost. In another scene a Palestinian woman is cheering soldiers as they march by her, suddenly one of the marching soldiers pulls out a gun and shoots her dead as they march past her. Then there is the beautiful scene where Elia's mother sits alone in the kitchen enjoying an ice cream all to herself. Finally, the scene where Suleiman pole vaults the wall that separates the Palestinians from the Israelis. The irony and humor within these scenes and throughout the film is breathtaking and left me stunned. The film has the biting political irony of a Luis Buñuel film, the quiet absurd humor of a Jacques Tati film and the fantasy of a Federico Fellini film. The film is gorgeously shot with an equally beautiful mix of Arab and Israelis music.
In the scene below I love the way Suleiman observes a tank as its cannon muzzle follows a young Arab as he goes across the street to deposit his trash in a garbage can. The camera's perspective starts with Suleiman in the scene then the camera gives us his line of sight, so that we become observers in the scene like him. The young Arab is so accustomed to the insanity of a tank positioned in front of his home that he acts as if its a daily ritual that has been part of his life from the day he was born till the day he dies. There is so much irony within this simple scene that its priceless and shows a director who can make incredible social and political commentary within a scene with no dialogue.
Trivia - The film is based on Suleiman's father, Fuad's diaries, his mothers letter's to family members and his own memories as a child.
Note - If you would like to view فيلم الزمن الباقي كامل - The Time That Remains to rent or buy please click on the link below the comments. It is sponsored by Google, so it is the safest and most secure way to get a copy for your film library.
